The present disclosure relates to techniques for managing business activities. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to techniques for capturing business activities, such as meetings, communication, and travel, for clients.
Businesses employ workers, such as managers, support staff, etc., to perform various work to generate revenue. Workers are provided with tools, such as production equipment, communication equipment, and office equipment, to perform their work. Communication equipment may include devices, such as phones, email, text, instant message, etc., and associated software to allow workers to communicate with each other, suppliers, clients, etc. Examples are provided in U.S. Pat. No. 3,906,166, the entire contents of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein. Additional examples include the IPHONE® available from APPLE® at www.apple.com.
Office equipment may include devices, such as calendars, maps, clocks, task lists, etc., and associated software. Examples are provided in U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,213,951 and 8,995,955, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein. Additional examples include MICROSOFT OFFICE® and WINDOWS® available from MICROSOFT® at www.microsoft.com.
Security systems may be provided to restrict access to business operations. For example, workers may be provided with restricted access to facilities by using a key card. In another example, access to communication and office equipment, such as cellular phones and/or computers, may be password restricted. Examples of security systems are provided in U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,769,643, 8,788,821, 8,984,282, 9,020,853, and 9,021,578, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein. Additional examples include MICROSOFT OFFICE® and WINDOWS® available from MICROSOFT® at www.microsoft.com, and IPHONE® available from APPLE® at www.apple.com.
Businesses receive payment from customers for products produced from their work or for services provided to their clients. In order to determine pricing for goods and services, businesses calculate fees for material, time, and other resources used to provide such products and services. For example, businesses may account for raw materials, equipment, and workers used in manufacturing a product. In another example, businesses may account for time and other resources used to perform services for a given client. Records of work done, resources used, and time spent may be manually entered into systems and invoices generated. Examples of invoice systems are provided in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,127,231, 7,634,445, 8,825,537, and 8,929,858, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein. Additional examples include QUICKBOOKS® available from INTUIT® at www.quickbooks.intuit.com and ELITE® available from THOMSON REUTERS® at http://www.elite.com/.